john hay & green herons- july 16

green heron

Often called the little green heron this waterbird is shy and elusive (this image was shot through the glass door for instance). My friend John Hay once told me that these birds were hunted to extinction by the early settlers on Cape Cod. They did not like their skulking presence or their rather forlorn crocking call. They were afraid of them, he said. Rather than be angry, John, a consummate naturalist, and observer of human nature as well, found this amusing. The idea that the pilgrims would clear cut the old forest, wipe out the wolf and bear and green heron populations, never mind the native american, would come back to haunt them/us. Never resigned or embittered, he spent his life championing the spirit that moves us to find reverence, relationship, and respect for the natural world. I think of him whenever I see the small heron or the little alewives among the water lilies.